Men's Soccer

Engineers Continue Hot Start with 2-0 Victory Against Springfield

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. &ndash; MIT men&rsquo;s soccer continued its torrid start to the 2008 campaign by knocking off Springfield College, 2-0, on Saturday at Roberts Field. The victory moved the Engineers to 12-0-1 on the season and 3-0-0 in NEWMAC Play while the Cardinal and Gray continue to build on the best start in program history.

Springfield (5-6-1, 2-2-0) generated the first scoring threat of the afternoon off the boot of senior Matt Montgomery, who re-directed a cross and slammed the ball off the top of the crossbar eight minutes into the match. The Pride had additional chances early in the contest, but a pair of corner kicks and several good crosses failed to yield a goal. MIT mounted pressure on the Springfield backs midway through the first half, but goalkeeper Kevin Leahy made four saves during the stretch to keep the Engineers&rsquo; attack at bay.

MIT broke the scoreless tie two minutes into the second half as junior Adam Talsma delivered his first goal of the season on a re-direct. A penalty near mid-field set up the opportunity while sophomore defender Kevin Chou sent the ball into the box.

The Pride enjoyed a commanding 9-2 edge in corners, but unfortunately every chance to come up with the equalizer was met with an MIT response. Caldwell reciprocated Leahy&rsquo;s tremendous first half by making fives saves of his own in the second.

With Springfield continuing to search for the game-tying goal, the Engineers locked up the conference win with another finish in the 83rd minute. Sophomore Christian Therkelsen sent a through-ball toward the middle of the pitch that freshman Max Stein-Golenbock corralled and drove 20 yards down field before placing the ball in the bottom left corner for the 2-0 lead.

Caldwell closed the afternoon with seven saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season. Leahy made five saves in goal for the Pride.